Sadness and Hope for Family of Victims of Train Shooting

By JONATHAN RABINOVITZ,

Published: December 14, 1993

MINEOLA, L.I., Dec. 13—
For the family of Dennis and Kevin McCarthy, the father and son who were among the 23 people shot last Tuesday on the Long Island Rail Road, today was a bittersweet mixture of sadness and hope.

Around the time that several hundred people were gathering for the funeral for Dennis McCarthy, a 52-year-old office manager with Prudential Securities, his 26-year-old son was speaking his first words since being admitted to a hospital intensive-care unit almost a week ago in a coma, the victim of a gunshot wound to his head. The neurosurgeon had predicted that he had, at best, a 20 percent chance of surviving.

"It's a very difficult time for my sister," said Donna Sauer, whose sister, Carolyn McCarthy, had maintained a round-the-clock vigil by her only child's bed and then steeled herself for today's farewell to her husband. "But at least we're hearing good reports from the hospital."

On this day when the McCarthy family, their friends and others who had been touched by the shooting pledged not to forget Dennis McCarthy, they also talked of healing, of helping his son to recover and of working to make the world safer. Studying the Evidence

As people here grieved, the police continued to investigate the crime, looking for witnesses they may have missed and studying the ballistic evidence to see whether any of the victims were hit with the hollow-tipped bullets known as Black Talons.

Colin Ferguson, charged with methodically planning the crime that left six people dead, remained under suicide watch in the Nassau County Jail, and as of late this afternoon, he had yet to receive a single visitor.

And this afternoon at the Waldorf-Astoria, President Clinton met for 15 minutes with the three men -- Michael O'Connor, Kevin Blum and Mark McEntee -- who subdued Mr. Ferguson after the shooting.

At today's funeral at Corpus Christi Roman Catholic Church here, John C. Reinhart, a neighbor of Mr. McCarthy's and a deacon in the church, choked back tears and delivered a homily in Mr. McCarthy's memory, calling for "an end to the violence that is eating away at the fabric of our lives." In this quiet town, where crime was once perceived as something that happened elsewhere, Mr. Reinhart spoke of how this death has shaken its residents. Signs of Recovery

"While we will try to forget the violence and remember the good times and loving times," he said, "we ask the world never to forget the violent, needless way that Dennis died so that Dennis's death and the deaths of the five other people can indeed be a catalyst to effect change that will put an end to violence."

At North Shore University Hospital, Mr. McCarthy's son was showing the signs of a recovery that his doctor considered remarkable. After three hours of surgery on Tuesday night that involved removing damaged brain tissue and shattered bone, his neurosurgeon, Dr. Nancy Epstein, had been concerned about his chances of surviving.

But the next day, Kevin McCarthy awoke from his coma, and while he could not move much of his left side, he could press his mother's hand in response to questions. Yesterday, the respirator that helped him breathe was removed, and this morning he spoke his first words.

"I almost fell over when I heard him pronounce his uncle's name," Dr. Epstein said. "His speech is very good. The kid is really recovering." 6 Months of Rehabilitation

Dr. Epstein said it seemed likely that Mr. McCarthy would regain his intellectual abilities. She said that it would be surprising if he could overcome the paralysis of his left side.

"He can't give up at this point," she said. "This is when the fight starts. He's in for a good six months of rehabilitative efforts."

Mr. McCarthy has yet to be told about his father's death, as his condition is judged to be too fragile for him to handle such a shock.

There is no evidence that either of the McCarthys was hit with a hollow-tipped bullet, marketed as the Black Talon by Winchester Ammunition. These bullets cause much more harm than the standard full-jacketed ones, because they flare out upon impact. In recent months, some gun-control advocates have urged that the bullets be banned, and last month Winchester said it was voluntarily withdrawing them from the market.

It remains to be seen whether these bullets may have caused injuries or deaths in this latest shooting that other bullets might not have.

A law-enforcement officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said today that they had recovered 29 casings from the rounds that they said Mr. Ferguson fired, and that 13 were Black Talons. This is in addition to another 29 rounds of Black Talons that Mr. Ferguson brought aboard and did not use.

The police and hospital officials have said that so far no wounds or deaths in the shooting have been linked to these bullets, though they are continuing to investigate.

Photo: Carolyn McCarthy, center, left her vigil at the side of her critically wounded son, Kevin, to attend the funeral of her husband, Dennis, in Mineola, L.I. They were struck down by a gunman last Tuesday on the Long Island Rail Road. Yesterday, Kevin spoke his first words since the shooting. (Vic DeLucia/The New York Times)